Reclining chair



Julys,1947. Y DRENKEs I 2,423,816

RECLI'NING CHAIR Filed Feb. 25, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet l gigli- July 8, 1947. J. D. RENKEs 2,423,816

RECLINING CHAIR. Filed Feb. 25, 1943 2 sheets-sheet? mnnluuumlullllllllk Patented July 8, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE John D. Remkes', Clinton, Iowa, -assignorto Volk- :man .Furniture Manufacturing Company, Morrison, Ill., a feci-.poration of Illinois Application February 25, 1943, :Serial No. @177,109

r1 Claim.

The present invention .relates to chairs :of vthe general character .in which .the back is pivoted to the chai-r frame, so that it may be tilted from a normal substantially upright position, rearwardly into reclining position, and .-it is more particularly concerned with chairs of this character wherein the back is additionally connected to a shiftable seat, so that `the pressure of the occupants back may lbe .relied upon to simultaneously shift the seat Vand also tilt the back into reclining position.

While chairs of this character have been heretofore proposed, they employ many metal parts (strategic war materials) require springs or the like 'to retract the seat and back to normalposition, and Aare not of as simple and inexpensive design as desired.

.Itis accordingly the primary object of this invention to provide a novel reclining chair of simple inexpensive design, embodying a minimum of metal or other strategic war materials, and yet which is of efficient, rugged construction,

A further importantr object is to provide a reclining chair embodying a seat guided for sliding movement and connected to the back in such manner that as the occupant leaves the chair, the seat and'back will automatically return to normal position, without recourse to springs or other resilient returning means.

A further object is to provide, in a reclining chair, a novel seat structure which is guided for bodily movement toward and away from the front of the chair on an inclined plane, so that the seat will rise as it is moved toward the front `of the chair, without changing its angle with respectto the horizontal.

Further objects are to provide novel chair features which make possible 'the utilization of wood and other non-strategic materials, and yet which result in a chair of extremely eicient and rugged design.

Additional Vobjects will become apparent ias the specication proceeds in conjunction with the annexed drawings and from the vappended claim.

In the drawings- Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view through a chair embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional View taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig, 3 is a perspective view, showing the shiftable seat and back structures in disassembled position;

Fig. 4 is a fragmental sectional View taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmental, sectional view taken on :the line 5-5 of Fig. 1, illustrating the manner in which the 'back is pivotally and .slidably connected -to the lside members vand ypivotall-y ,connected tothe-seat structure.

With continued reference tothe drawings, in which like reference characters have been used to designate similar parts Vthroughout the several views thereof, the chair .is made up A'of -a base frame structure A; arseat structure B; and aback C, the :various parts being covered with upholstery designated by the broken lines l0 when the chair is finished, a specic illustration thereof being omitted :to simplify theedisclosure. Also,-the seat and `back are equipped with padding, in a well known manner (notzshown) The base frame vstructure -is made -up -of two sidek frames, each'of whichcomprisesan arm section I'I, a -lower side member l2, and frontand rear uprightslS and AI4 terminating in `iron-tand rear Vfeet I5 and Hi respectively. Thesideframes are rigidly connected together in front and rear by .rails Il and vI8 respectively. Secured in `a rabbet in neach yside member l2 is a wooden rail or fstri-p t9, which, as seen in Fig. 1, extends substantially along the full length of the side members and `inclin'es vdownwardly .from front to rear., so as to afford 'a stable support for Atheseat and also cause the latter -to raise when it is moved forwardly, in the manner to be now described.

Guides yI 9 slidably iit into-grooves or guideway-S 2l in the two side members 22 of the seat, as seen in Fig. 2. Referring to Fig. 3, the 4seat structure is made up of a pair of side members l22, a pair of end members v2? and 24, and a brace or bridge member v25. Secured to the lower edge of end member 23 and side members -22 is a stop member 26, which, as seen in Fig. l, abut-s the `front edge of rail I l, and thereby limits rearward movement of the seat to position shown, with the parts in normal ornon-reclining position.

Rear end member 24 is secured at its ends to the vsides of members r22 and is provided at its ends adjacent the upper edge thereof with notches 21, into whichfare tightly secured a pair of trunnion supports 28, which project rearwardly of the seat structure and carry trunnions 29 at their free ends. Supports 28 are also secured in full surface engagement with the inner walls of members 22, so that the supports 28, end wall 24, and side members 22 mutually reinforce each other. The parts are further reinforced at the corners by blocks 3|, in well known manner, and a strip 32 is secured to end member 24 adjacent the upper edge thereof, for stiflening it.

The back structure is made up of a pair of side members 34, connected together by a'plurality of cross members 35 and reinforcing blocks 36. Members 34 are preferably pivotally connected to trunnions 29 by recesses 31, which t over the trunnions as seen in Fig. 1, permitting the back to be freely lifted out of the chair as indicated in Fig. 3, and by slightly offsetting the end of the slot as shown in Fig. 1, inadvertent removal thereof is avoided.

Projecting outwardly from each side member 34, above the pivotal connection with the seat, is a trunnion 33 which seats in a recess 39 in each upright I4. As seen in Fig. 5, recess 39 is preferably formed by a dado saw or the like in well known manner, resulting in an open top and a curved surface 4I a1; the bottom merging into the surface of member I4. A wood block 42 is secured in each slot 39 and forms a stop for limiting downward movement of trunnions 38 therein.` The chair is preferably rst assembled and the back swung into the desired fully reclining position, and th'en blocks 42 are inserted in grooves 39, abutting the lower sides of the trunnions, and glued or nailed in place. This procedure accurately assures the proper stop position of the blocks in the grooves.

As seen in Figs. l and 3, side members 22 are recessed at 44, and back members 34 are rounded at 45, to permit free swinging of the back andv seat, without binding. Forward movement of the seat is limited by a fabric web 41 or the like connected to cross piece I8 and end member 24 of the seat, the length of the web being determined by the extent to which it is desired that the seat shall move forward when the-back is swung into full reclining position.

Taking up the operation of the novel chair of the invention, the parts as illustrated in Fig. 1 are in normal or non-reclining position, and the seat structure is at the bottom of its range of travel, being stopped in this position by reason of engagement of strip 26 of the seat with the front edge of cross-piece I1 of the base frame structure. The back is disposed in substantially upright position with trunnions spaced above blocks 42 in grooves 39. If desired the occupant may maintain V(the parts in. this `position by merely sitting in the usual manner.

When it is desired to recline, the occupant leans back so as to apply force to the seat back. This action, through trunnions 29, pushes the seat aforwardly, and by reason of the inclination of guides I9 causes the seat to bodily rise, without however changing its angle with the horizontal. As this is taking place, trunnions 38 simultaneously pivot and move downwardly in their slots 39, until they ultimately strike blocks 42. When this occurs web 41 is pulled tight, with the result that the back is supported in stable manner. This position is indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

An important feature of the invention resides in the fact that when the chair is in the reclining position just described, and the occupant gets up from the chair, the seat and back automatically return to the full line normal or non-1 reclining position shown in Fig. 1, because of the inclination of guides I9 at the angle shown in Fig. 1, which causes the seat to gravitate to the lower part of the guides and also, through trunnions- 29, return the back to normal position. This novel feature accordingly obviates the need for springs or the like for returning the parts to normal position, and while I prefer to use guides having the inclination shown, because it has been found in practice to effect eiiicient return of the parts under the action of gravity, without noise or shock, it is to be understood that the angle may be varied within limits without; departing from the spiirt of the invention.

Another important feature of the invention resides in the fact that the trunnions 38 move downwardly in their slots 39 while the back swings rearwardly and the seat moves forwardly,

which results in a forward component of movement of the lower portion of the back in consonance with the forward movement of the seat and the reclining movement of the body of the occupant of the chair, which avoids wrinkling of the clothing on the back of the occupant, and minimizes the gap between the seat and back.

I claim:

In a reclining chair, insulti-combination, a seat frame made up of a pair of end members and a pair of side members, the ends of at least one of said end members abutting the inner surfaces of said side members adjacent the rear end thereof andV being rigidly secured thereto, saidy one end member having a notch at each end opening into the upper edge thereof; and an elongated trunnion support seated in each notch and rigidly secured to the walls of each notch and to the inner wall of said side member, said trunnion supports projecting rearwardly beyond said one end member and each carrying a trunnion at the free end thereof.

JOHN D. RENKES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS of record in the 

